GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Los Angeles Dodgers rising star just fell out of the sky.
Prized rookie shortstop, Corey Seager, baseball's No. 1 prospect, will likely miss the start of the 2016 MLB season after he was diagnosed with a sprained left knee on Saturday.
Seager will miss at least two weeks – the remainder of the Cactus League schedule – as he tries to rest and rehab the knee injury which was suffered while running around the bases on Friday afternoon in an 8-4 loss to the Anaheim Angels.
An MRI result showed that there was no tears or structural damage in the knee leaving the city of Los Angeles and the Dodgers front office breathing a huge sigh of relief. Even Seager himself was happy with the MRI results.
"I was afraid I was going to have to have surgery because of the way my knee felt," he told Time Warner Cable Sports Net LA reporter Alanna Rizzo. "I was incredibly relieved when I found out there was no structural damage."
Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and new manager Dave Roberts have decided to take a cautious approach with Seager, expecting to rest him longer than the reported recovery time.
"He felt soreness. We checked it out," Friedman told reporters. "He's still sore, but after checking it out, we're confident it's not something that's going to linger long-term. As soon as he's asymptomatic, we're going to ramp up activities."
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When asked if that meant Seager could be ready for Opening day on April 4th in San Diego, Roberts and Friedman proceeded with caution.
"That's pushing it," said Roberts. "It's not ideal. You can get your at-bats on the minor league side, but obviously, you've got to get your body back into playing shape."
Super-utility star Enrique Hernandez will take over for Seager at shortstop, with Charlie Culberson as his backup.
